HarryPotter Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 "With sand, the peak of the rock may be exposed" Nono. Add rock first and then sand, so the rock is stabilized 3 Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 See now this is something I've been debating. The plan is to get a diamond goby to keep the sand nice and clean, and I don't want the fish to try and burrow under the rock only to get denied and not have a happy live hole to hide out in. Would the fish be OK if I poured the sand around the rock? Quote Link to comment
Dunlager Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Better he be denied than dig a hole and have rock shift down onto his head. See I did sand first without thinking. Now I'm concerned about doing a goby/shrimp pair. I am sure they would be fine but you never know. 2 Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 That's a good point. Don't want to smash the fish, that's for sure. I suppose I could glue some PVC pipe to the rock to serve as stilts and put sand under the rocks. Of course, then if he burrows a lot, the pipe will be exposed and look stupid. Hmm. Quote Link to comment
Proudgeek Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Great work so far! Nice. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dunlager Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Of course, then if he burrows a lot, the pipe will be exposed and look stupid. Hmm. Yeah, no one likes to have their pipe exposed. 1 Quote Link to comment
Han Solo Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I love the depth the lagoon tanks offer, very cool design! So far no leaks. I have the tank under some foam, because come to find out, the plywood I used for the surface of the stand has a high spot about 2mm tall. Just enough for the rubber leveling mat of the tank to not do anything and stress the bottom glass. Hopefully the foam will absorb the imperfections. The stand is perfectly level, aside from the dang high spot. Later today I will drain the fresh water from the tank and drill holes in the back of the stand so I can run power strips inside the cabinet. And add a shelf, if everything goes well. Door will come later. Looks like I'll need to set up my Raspberry Pi tank controller again as well...fun! What's your controller look like? I'm designing a full control system as well, not with a Pi though. Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 What's your controller look like? I'm designing a full control system as well, not with a Pi though. Honestly it's pretty ugly...wires all over the place, very makeshift enclosure...needs some work. My dad did the coding for the Pi and it's a pretty good system. Has a few bugs every now and then but nothing that will crash your tank. Everything is plugged into outlets that are controlled by relays that the Pi turns on/off. So all pumps, heaters, fans/chillers, etc. can be turned on/off with the Pi. Very handy for water changes. It also does ATO which is super helpful. We haven't programmed it to do dosing yet but that wouldn't take much time at all. It also sends us text message notifications when the ATO reservoir is empty, if the temp is too hot/cold, stuff like that. Pretty cool. If you're interested in building a Pi controller I can send you the code and the script to install it on a Pi. Now for the tank update...it appears the tank is water tight, so time to drain the fresh water. I got a 20lb bag of Fiji Pink sand from the LFS for $30, hopefully that will be sufficient. I suspect I'll need another 10-15 pounds. I'm still debating whether or not I want to put my rock up on stilts. I'd like to give a diamond goby as natural an environment I can, without giving it a 6 foot+ tank for it to scavenge in. Pics of the tank with salt water, sand, and rock coming tonight! 1 Quote Link to comment
Cencalfishguy56 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 "With sand, the peak of the rock may be exposed" Nono. Add rock first and then sand, so the rock is stabilized nooo, sand first then rock I'm a rebel lol 1 Quote Link to comment
Han Solo Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Would love to see the code man! Im in he middle of a ATO design with sonar ping sensors instead of float values. So far the sensor tests look good I just need to make the code suitable for failsafes and easy setup. Using an atmega328p, coding with C 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Would love to see the code man! Im in he middle of a ATO design with sonar ping sensors instead of float values. So far the sensor tests look good I just need to make the code suitable for failsafes and easy setup. Using an atmega328p, coding with C I'll see if I can find the file...I'll PM you shortly! Now for the tank update...it's wet!! Full of rock and sand! Of course, it wasn't smooth sailing. I went to pick up my rock and it started coming undone. Dry rock is VERY crumbly...and VERY frustrating! So I epoxied the pieces back together as best I could, let it set for a while, and set it in the tank. I was going to go the PVC stilts route, but when the rock started crumbling I decided against it and just put it in the tank. Next came the sand, because as was brought to my attention, I don't want to smash any goby heads. I also managed to break the island, that was unfortunate. Now it has a crescent moon shape. The bottom was completely flat except for one spot, so I tried to chisel it flat and naturally, the rock went boom. Ah well. That rock is easy to replace if need be. I didn't manage to snap a pic before the water went in, but since this is a thing these days, here's the cloudy shot: I think I'll have roughly 3/4" of sand. I'm happy with that. Easy enough to add more sand if I need it. Hard to tell while the water is so cloudy. I'm sure I'll have to get in there and move some sand around and reinforce the rocks. I also won't be adding any light until probably the end of August. I figure since the sand is live, I'll add some ammonia (from Smart and Final) so the bacteria can start chowing down. I'll likely add some bottled bacteria to hopefully speed things up, but I'm still going to wait a while before adding a light. Need to let the bank account recover! I can get a good deal on the AI Prime HD so I'm leaning heavily that direction. I love the full spectrum from my dad's tank...the colors are much more spectacular than the standard blue/white combo. So...next major update, probably a good month and a half away! Quote Link to comment
Dunlager Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Don't forget to post a pic after the dust settles. 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Excellent idea, I almost forgot I'd have to do that haha. Should clear up in a day or two, I added the "bio mag" thing or whatever that helps clear up the water. Quote Link to comment
mystersyster Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 You gonna remove that IM sticker? 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Believe it or not, that's one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the whole build for me. I HATE when a sticker comes off and leaves a sticky residue behind...so I put it off for as long as possible... I suppose I should man up and do it Quote Link to comment
Dunlager Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Mine came off without an issue. 1 Quote Link to comment
mystersyster Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Believe it or not, that's one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the whole build for me. I HATE when a sticker comes off and leaves a sticky residue behind...so I put it off for as long as possible... I suppose I should man up and do it Haha. I don't know how well those stickers are stuck on there, but soaking the residue in vinegar or alcohol for a minute or two should let you wipe it right of. 1 Quote Link to comment
owlshead19 Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 or mayo - works every time 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 or mayo - works every time Wow seriously? I'll have to give that a shot...I hate vinegar and mayo, but I think I hate vinegar more. I'll work on the sticker today. This morning I woke up to a mostly clear tank! Here's where we're at: I'm not sure I love how the scape ended up because of the all stupid crumbling, but there's not much I can do about it. I like it from the side, but from the front it's hard to get a feel for the depth of the rock and it looks pretty boxy. I suppose with lighting over the tank that may help. Ah well. I need to find some ammonia today...the stuff from Fart and Smile has surfactant in it. Not a huge deal though...I'll take any excuse to go to Home Depot! Quote Link to comment
mystersyster Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Not bad. You can add another small rock on the left so it doesnt look as boxy. Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Yeah that's a good idea...I have a few pieces lying around, I'll have to stick them in the tank and see how it looks. Excellent idea, thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Just ordered some Dr. Tim's for $10...anymore, it looks like all the bottled bacteria costs the same. This stuff seems to get high marks from several members on here, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm hoping I don't get sent a dead bottle. Off to Ace Hardware this evening to get some ammonia. Just need to do the math to figure out how much to add to get my tank to 2-3ppm of the Ace solution (10% NH4OH)...should give me something to do tonight Quote Link to comment
Cencalfishguy56 Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Just ordered some Dr. Tim's for $10...anymore, it looks like all the bottled bacteria costs the same. This stuff seems to get high marks from several members on here, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm hoping I don't get sent a dead bottle. Off to Ace Hardware this evening to get some ammonia. Just need to do the math to figure out how much to add to get my tank to 2-3ppm of the Ace solution (10% NH4OH)...should give me something to do tonight between me and you I cycled my qt tank with petsmart denitrifying bacteria lol best $3 dollars I spent but I used dr tims on my DT Just ordered some Dr. Tim's for $10...anymore, it looks like all the bottled bacteria costs the same. This stuff seems to get high marks from several members on here, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm hoping I don't get sent a dead bottle. Off to Ace Hardware this evening to get some ammonia. Just need to do the math to figure out how much to add to get my tank to 2-3ppm of the Ace solution (10% NH4OH)...should give me something to do tonight between me and you I cycled my qt tank with petsmart denitrifying bacteria lol best $3 dollars I spent but I used dr tims on my DT 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Did the Petsmart stuff work OK? If I get a bogus bottle of Dr. Tim's, I'll check out the Petsmart stuff for sure. Looks like I'll need around 1.3-1.5mL of the ammonia solution I got. I'll be adding that later this afternoon. Quote Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Did some calculations, dosed some ammonia and checked the water...ammonia is at 2ppm. Probably the first time I've ever been excited to see 2ppm of ammonia in a tank Bottled bacteria comes tomorrow, we'll see how it works! 1 Quote Link to comment
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